The TCFF is all set to go out in style this year with a “The Wizard of Oz”-themed sendoff. Head down to our free community party at the Open Space on Sunday from 7 pm until midnight for music, food, games, and prizes.

There will be a costume contest (all ages welcome!), so show us your best Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, or Wicked Witch of the West.

Don’t forget to enter the singing contest—tryouts are 3 pm on Sunday at the Clinch Park music stage. If you’ve ever tried to belt out “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” like Judy Garland, there’s a place for you at the Closing Night Bash right up next to the Wild Sullys, our performers for the evening. Join us afterwards for a special screening of—you guessed it—“The Wizard of Oz” on the big screen!

The festival is in full swing, tickets are selling, and venues are filling up—but it’s not too late! There are still a number of showings with seats available. Looking for a suggestion? Try out some of these films with tickets available for purchase now:

DONATION WILL CREATE A SPECIAL FUND TO BRING INDEPENDENT, DOCUMENTARY, AND FOREIGN FILMS TO A LARGER NATIONWIDE AUDIENCE

“The idea is to take what we do in Traverse City and share it across the country.”

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Michael Moore’s groundbreaking, seminal film, “Roger & Me,” the board of directors of the Traverse City Film Festival announced tonight at the kick-off of its 10th annual film fest that Michael Moore has donated a quarter of a million dollars — an amount representing his final and remaining profits from “Roger & Me” — to the festival.

“I wanted to do something special, something big to honor all the good over the years that has resulted from my first film,” said Moore, the founder and president of the festival. “This donation will be used specifically to address the lack of access across most of the country for people who want to go to a movie theater and see a foreign film or a documentary. Unlike in past generations when it was not difficult if you lived in a place like Flint, Michigan, to see the latest movie from Ingmar Bergman or Francois Truffaut — or be able to watch, also in a theater, a documentary like ‘The Thin Blue Line’ or ‘Roger & Me’ — these days the public and the younger generation have little chance to see films like this, the way they are meant to be seen: in a theater, in the dark, up on a big screen, with dozens or hundreds of other moviegoers sharing the experience. I think I can help fix that.”

Moore’s idea on how to “fix that” is to create and curate a monthly movie night across America — tentatively titled “Mike’s Movie Night” — where independent films (American, foreign, and documentary) will be beamed to theaters across the United States and Canada. It will be set up in the same way movie theaters now show the Metropolitan Opera live from New York City. The monthly movie night will be hosted by Moore and other prominent filmmakers and actors. There will be a live Q&A at the end of each film with the films’ stars and director, and audience members across North America will be able to ask questions of the filmmakers. Read More →

Have you ever left a movie with burning questions or wanting to tell the filmmaker how much you loved their work? Well, now’s your chance! New at the Traverse City Film Festival, we’re expanding our post-film Q&A sessions by offering you the opportunity to send the filmmakers your questions, comments, or kudos. Just send your note to filmmakers@tcff.org and we will then pass it along to the filmmakers. Click here for more information.

TCFF makes it to the newsstands again! Learn more about our tenth anniversary and founder Michael Moore’s consistent festival philosophy in this Detroit News article. The interview details how TCFF has changed in the last ten years, from 50,000 tickets sold in 2005 to a whopping 119,000 in 2013. Still, Moore explains how, while it has grown, the festival still has the same, changeless mission of providing “just great movies.”

In less than a week, the 10th annual Traverse City Film Festival will kick off! And if that isn’t exciting enough, I come bearing good news: Just when you thought the lineup couldn’t possibly get any better, that we couldn’t possibly fit any more movies into an already jam-packed schedule, we’ve just added a bunch of new screenings to the movies you couldn’t grab tickets to — and added some absolutely great new films you’d be crazy to miss!

Join us at the State on Saturday night for director Richard Linklater’s (“Dazed and Confused,” “Bernie” TCFF ’12) 12-years-in-the-making masterpiece, “Boyhood.”

We’re also excited to present a special sneak preview of the feel-good charmer “One Chance” from the director of “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Marley & Me.” It’s the inspirational true underdog story of a guy who won “Britain’s Got Talent” and the hearts of a nation. See it here in TC before anywhere else!

Tickets are on sale now for a second screening of the sold out “1971” — but this is no ordinary screening. On Friday at 3 pm, we’ll show the film here in TC with the director and the real-life stars, and theaters around the world will join us in watching this great doc about how some things never change. You won’t want to miss this one-of-a-kind international cinematic experience.

By popular demand, we’ve also added encore screenings of John Turturro and Woody Allen in “Fading Gigolo,” the beautifully poignant “Still Life,” and the real-life romantic comedy “Meet the Patels” — and with all four of the Patels in attendance, this is a screening you absolutely won’t want to miss! (See the complete list of added screenings below.)

Speaking of guests, I’m proud to announce that over 100 filmmakers and industry guests and will join us here in Traverse City starting Tuesday for a week of moviegoing euphoria.

Keep in mind that this list is only a small sampling. Most screenings will feature filmmakers in attendance, and I can’t wait till they get to meet you, the incomparable TC audiences.

You can catch our filmmaking visitors not only at their screenings, but also at our panels, film school, and—how’s this for small town charm—even at the filmmaker vs. volunteer softball game at the Civic Center on Friday, August 1 at 10 am.

The lineup for our free daily panels starting at 9:30 am at the City Opera House has been set (you may notice a few changes!):

And new to the film school, TCFF Board member and Academy Award-nominee Tia Lessin will teach a producing workshop, and “Dinosaur 13” director Todd Douglas Miller will present an inside look at his film that is one of my absolute favorite documentaries of the year.

So take a look at your schedule and see what else you can fit in. There’s always room for one more…or two…or three! You definitely won’t regret it.

Check out the Northern Express’ oral history of the founding of the Traverse City Film Festival. Featuring first-hand accounts from festival founders and leaders including Michael Moore, John Robert Williams, Doug Stanton, and our executive director Deb Lake, discover just how the festival came to be. Proof that only the very best film festivals are founded over delicious complimentary olives!

Today, everyone can get tickets for the Traverse City Film Festival’s 10th Anniversary filmgoing spectacular!

By now you’ve seen the lineup, you’ve read about all the great movies, you’ve realized there’s no way you can see everything, and you’ve made peace with your schedule. Now, beginning at 11 am at the Main Box Office (201 E. Front, corner of Cass and Front) or by phone (231-242-FILM) — and online at 6 pm — all that’s left is to get your tix and start your TCFF10 adventure!

Today also marks the first chance ANYONE has to get FREE tickets to movies at our newest venue, The Buzz, home to some of the most interesting, intelligent, and inspiring movies of the festival, as well as our look back at some festival favorites from year’s past. The Buzz has five free movie screenings every festival day — film to the people!

And there’s still time to enter your name into our drawing to purchase tickets for Movies on a Boat. Just send one postcard or letter per film to TCFF Movies on a Boat, PO Box 4064, Traverse City MI 49685, or drop off your request at the Main Box Office. Please include the film title, your contact information, and your choice of one or two tickets. One entry per person, per film. Winners will be notified on Wednesday, July 23, so get your entries in now!

Thousands of film festival tickets are waiting to be snatched up today! We have sold many tickets to the Friends of the Film Festival — again setting a new ticket sales record, and we’ll be announcing new screenings in the coming week — but right now, there are still plenty of tickets for great films available! Here are a few of my favorites that I don’t want any of you to miss:

Dinosaur 13 – One of the best documentaries of the year — by far. It tells a story that will make your blood boil and your hair curl. Don’t miss it!

Ivory Tower – We’ve all been waiting for this film to be made, the one that rips the lid off the assault on our public post-secondary education system.

Lonesome – A stunning “lost” film from the silent era, you’ll be enchanted watching this love story from the 1920s. And once again we’re flying in from Boston the great Alloy Orchestra to play the score live. If you’ve missed this event in the past, this is the year to clear the decks and see a silent film with live music in one of Traverse City’s first silent movie houses.

P.S. One more note: our Walk of Fame Auction launches tomorrow, Sunday, July 20, online at tcff.org/auction. But you can get ready today by previewing the eclectic lineup of the star-studded items (like a jacket worn by Jennifer Aniston) and local offerings (dinner for six in your home by Chef Guillaume of Bistro FouFou, anyone?) available in this 10th Anniversary fundraiser.